RWBY Souls: Remnant's Embers
by SacredEuphoria
Summary: Fendrel was just ash. Not even fit to be ember. After linking the flame, the warrior finds himself in a land named Remnant. However, with him have come some of the Lords of Cinder. Fendrel may be a chosen undead, but even he does not have the power to save this world. It looks like he's gonna need the help of a few hunters and huntresses... (RWBY and Dark Souls crossover)
1. Chapter 1: Wake Up

**Yeah, so I don't own anything from RWBY. That would be Rooster Teeth's thing. Or Dark Souls. The great lord Miyazaki of From Software owns that. RIP poise.**

* * *

 _Chapter 1: Wake_ _Up_

* * *

Stone. Cold, hard stone was the first thing he felt. He couldn't see it, however, as it was pitch black. _"Where am I?"_ he thought. Upon further inspection with his coarse hands, he noticed the rock beneath him was not smooth either and was covered in patches of grass. In fact, it almost felt as though the stone was arranged in bricks.

Carefully, he propped himself up. This was harder than he first anticipated, due to the heavy metal plating he wore on his torso. The man stretched his arms as though waking from a deep sleep, only to have his right arm hit something hard. He felt the item carefully. It was a metallic bar with a coiled shaping to it. Although the air around it was cold, the metal itself was warm to touch, as though it was creating it's own heat.

A question quickly arose in his head: _"Is this what I think it is?"_ As his hands made his way farther up the coil, he felt two more points extending from the bar. A growing sense of nostalgia appeared in the man's stomach as he used the metal to stand himself up. Nervously, he hovered his hand over the object and projected his soul onto it.

Fire began to lick at the base of the steel, fueled by the ash at the base, before releasing its force in a quick flash of light. The man's shadow danced across the crimson trees and stone pillars behind him while he took a seat next to the newly created bonfire. The orange light now highlighted his pale, white skin, which contrasted his short, black hair that fell over his face on one side in messy locks, occasionally covering his light blue eyes.

On his torso, he wore set of armor. He had modified it himself and was made so that it was neither too heavy to weigh him down in battle nor too light to ineffective at protecting him. It had been claimed from one his fallen enemies, a fight he will never forget. However, instead of being used to guard the archives, the iron armour now protected a simple warrior. A warrior who had now lay down his head on the stone floor of the ruins, in wait of the morning...

* * *

The curtains did nothing but slight dim the sunlight that was slowly starting to glare into the room and onto Ruby's sleeping eyes. It almost woke her. Almost. Ruby could sleep through most things, a statement that Yang could testify to. What she couldn't sleep through though was- "RUBY!" snapped Weiss, which quickly jolted Ruby awake, making her briefly panic and very nearly fall off the bed.

"I'm awake, I'm awake!" replied the reaper's frantic voice.

"You should've been awake an hour ago, you dolt!" came Weiss' reply. "We're going be late now because of you!" The aristocrat then proceeded to storm towards the door and swing it open, before turning around and exclaiming that she would be now going to class. To door banged close behind her. Ruby had gotten used to this by now, especially since it had happened a fair few times now. What was surprising was how the ice queen could still get angry at Ruby sleeping in. I suppose that was the answer though: she was the ice queen.

The bathroom door clicked shut and Ruby's attention was drawn towards the silent, raven-haired woman walking out. Blake was as silent as usual, which was a massive contrast to the brash blonde on the other side of the room, who noticed her sister was finally awake. "Hey, look who's finally awake!" smirked Yang, only to get a comeback of "Like you never sleep in, meanie" from her sibling, who was making her way over to the bathroom.

* * *

Team RWBY's lessons that morning seemed to go on forever, especially since it was Grimm Studies with Professor Port. His stories went on forever and ever and ever and ever and- well, you get the idea. With this all morning you'd think that the academy was trying to make the students pull a Van Gogh and cut their ears off. Thankfully, it finished (eventually) and the students were released to lunch.

As the team strolled down the hallway to the canteen, Ruby yawned loudly (after all that morning-long lecture had almost put her to sleep). Weiss glared at her from the corner of her eye. "That's funny. I would've thought you wouldn't be tired considering the amount of time you slept in for this morning." she spat out.

"Well, someone's a bit salty," poked Yang "Huh, I thought salt melted ice…" This quickly gained a glare from Weiss, who had no comeback to this, so simply replied with "Ugh. Well I have work to do, so I will see you next lesson. Enjoy your lunch." And thus she walked away.

Work wasn't the real reason why Weiss wasn't having lunch with the others. After having the morning trapped with them in the same room as Port, she needed some alone time and decided to go on a walk. There was a spot she had found on the grounds of the school, surrounded by trees, where nobody went. A perfect spot for her to relax away from the buzz and noise of the boisterous students. It was a small square area framed with trees and had a flagstone floor. There was a nice metallic bench at one end out of sight from the path.

Or at least that's how she remembered it. Now in the centre of the usual paradise stood what appeared to be a coiled sword, jutting out from a pile of dust. Weiss eyed it suspiciously but after running the options through her head for a few seconds, she waved it off as another one of Ozpin's odd ideas of decorating the school (nothing could be weirder than that giant, golden lemur statue though…)

Gently, Weiss sat herself at a bench and let out a long sigh. Between studying, training and her team, she didn't usually get that much time to relax, so it was nice to get a sit down. In fact, this bench was pretty comfortable and the slight gap in trees gave her a lovely view of Forever Fall, it's crimson trees stretching for miles into the distance.

* * *

 **A/N: So then. The first chapter of my first fanfiction. I went for a Dark Souls x RWBY crossover because I love the game and the show. For those of you who are Dark Souls fans, I've only really played DS3 that much, so… don't expect too many references to the other two games. I'll get round to finishing them eventually. Well done if you got the Professor Arc reference (great fanfic). Please feel free to review. And don't be afraid to leave criticism, I want to improve… so… you know. I say that but I don't even know if I'm gonna continue it. I'm not exactly a pro writer. But, hey, everyone has to start somewhere. Besides, even if I do continue it, it's not gonna be very regular. I have studying to do, R1 to spam and hentai to watch.**


	2. Chapter 2: Get Up, Get Out There

**Fun Fact: I still don't own RWBY or Dark Souls.**

* * *

 _Chapter 2: Get Up, Get Out There_

* * *

As he ate his breakfast of wild rabbit (easily cooked on the bonfire), the warrior tried to recall how he got to this forest of red. It was unlike any he had seen before in Lothric or Drangleic. All he remembered was linking the First Flame and the fire engulfing him, only to wake up here. Wherever here was anyway. Currently, he was sat in what seemed to be stone ruins with the bonfire in the centre. To be honest, it wasn't anything he wasn't used to, since most of the bonfires in Lothric were based within ruins or at least old, stonework buildings.

Thankfully, he still had all of his memories. That's why he knew he was named Fendrel and the greatsword on his back was a Farron Greatsword, plucked from one of the Abyss Watchers corpses. It was one of Fendrel's habits to take the weapons and armour of his slain foes and then wear them, as though they were trophies he wished to show off. While it was good all that he remembered all this, it also meant he remembered all of his painful deaths. Name a way to die and odds on Fendrel had done it. Hot branding iron to the face? Done. Giant arrow through chest? Done. Body opened up with a scythe like tin of tuna? Done.

* * *

As she walked to the canteen, Blake's feline ears twitched. "Did someone say tuna?" Yang looked at her, bewildered.

* * *

Once he had finished his simple breakfast, Fendrel decided it would best to survey the area and see if he could find some kind of life. Hence, he gripped his hands around the branches of the tallest tree on the edge of the clearing and began climbing. After a few branches failed to keep his weight, therefore causing him to have to fall back down to a lower branch, Fendrel finally reached the top of the rubicund tree. The forest stretched around him for miles. In one direction, the forest appeared to go on until it reached the sea. In the other, it appeared to go on for about a couple of miles until it reached a steep cliff; the cliff was topped with a few green trees and a large building according to the view through his binoculars. He had had this pair since he left the High Wall of Lothric and were one of his treasured keepsakes. The building looked in good condition. That meant someone had to look after it, which meant people. Whether they were friendly or not was a question he'd have to answer when he got there.

He descended the tree and picked up his stuff. It was going to be a long walk to that hill but it wasn't any farther than he had walked before. Thus, he set off.

* * *

Two hours in and Fendrel had encountered nothing but the red trees and an occasional river, although he was not bored of this. After you travel by yourself for so long, you get used to being bored, to the point where you barely even feel it anymore. The feeling was soon dismissed, however, when the cursed undead arrived at a waterfall above a small lake. _"Scenery like this certainly is a change from Lothric's castle walls."_ he thought as he knelt down in front of the pond and gazed into the clear water.

Nostalgia filled his mind, as he remembered the Firekeeper. One of the only people he talked to regularly on his journey before. She wasn't here. He had tried to warp to the Firelink Shrine but to no avail. Wherever he was, it wasn't Lothric, that was for sure. All he could do now was try and find some people who knew what was going on.

A bush rustled behind the chosen undead. Fendrel slowly twisted around, hand hovering over the hilt of his blade. The hollow could feel malicious eyes on him. It felt like a predator stalking their prey. The only noise now was the waterfall. The pitter-patter of water on the rocks blissfully peaceful.

Out of the shadows leapt a wolf-like creature, the likes of which Fendrel had not seen before. It's fiery eyes set into bone plating made him feel uneasy. Pointed claws reached for their prey, only to swipe thin air as the Chosen Undead rolled out the way.

Years of training and repetitive death had trained the warrior well, as a calm fury flowed through him and his greatsword lunged for the nightmarish monster. However, steel met bone and Fendrel's blade clashed with the ivory spikes on the wolf's long arms. The creature saw its chance to strike and brutishly swung its arm at Fendrel. The warrior's reactions were quick, but not quick enough this time as a claw left a gash in his side as he tumbled away and grunted in pain.

This, nonetheless, did not deter Fendrel. Pain had grown dull throughout the years allowing him to bear it and keep swinging his sword at this pitch-black hellhound. The two traded hits back and forth, a horrible scraping noise sounding upon metal meeting bone armour. However, the creature was cumbersome compared the speed of Fendrel's quick movements, allowing the warrior to give more hits than he was taking.

The beowolf went in for another strike but this time it was lazy. Fendrel saw the claw coming from a mile away. He slid under the monster's legs, plunging his crude knife into the ground to stop him behind the creature. The warrior pounced on the back of the wolf. A cruel sneer lit up Fendrel's face; a harsh contrast to his usual crestfallen expression. Steel pierced through a black chest. A blood-curdling howl sounded. Inky smoke flowed into the air. Fendrel was left lying on the ground, blood slowly seeping from his many wounds. The creature had dissipated. The fight was over.

Panting and groaning, Fendrel reached for his Estus flask and took a large gulp. The warmth coursed through his body repairing his gashes. He sighed. "Well, it looks like I haven't escaped from having to fight. Such a pity. Fortune favours no-one, I suppose." he spoke to himself. "Anyway, this estate on the hill awaits me."

* * *

The hike continued on. Apart from the occasional disturbance of one of those wolf monstrosities, it was peaceful, albeit rather melancholy after another two hours. By the time he reached the foot of the cliff, all the shades of red had started to blend together and the permanent silence had started to become deafening. The cliff was barren and imposing, its stark grey towering over the crimson trees below. Thankfully, the cliff was not flat, which meant it was climbable. The worst that could happen now was that he fell from the cliff and would have to start all over again from the ruins. But that wasn't **that** bad… Right?

The longer Fendrel considered climbing up the precipice, the more he doubted his climbing ability. After all it wasn't like he had attended that rock climbing club he had seen advertised at the Undead Settlement. In hindsight, it would have been worth putting up with Siegward's constant chatter if he could have learned to rock climb now that he needed it. Fendrel wasn't the biggest fan of the onion-helmeted man because of his constant wittering and positive attitude. It had finally tipped him over the edge when he had found Siegward locked in a jail cell in the Profaned Capital. _"I'm seem to be in a bit of a pickle? Well, no shit! You're locked in a fucking jail cell guarded by a giant!"_ Fendrel ranted in his head.

Now in a particularly salty mood, the hollow scanned the cliff for an alternative way up. Unfortunately, Fendrel didn't seem to have a high enough luck stat happen upon another way up, so he reluctantly began to climb.

* * *

It was a slow process and Fendrel was pretty sure he was going to fall off at any point, mainly due to a mixture of wind and heavy armour. But he didn't fall. Well, not this time at least. At the top of the cliff was a line of trees. Green ones this time. _"I swear if I ever see a red tree again…"_ He began in his thoughts. However, he was quickly interrupted. Somewhere nearby he could hear a distinct, echoey crackling sound. A sound that had heard repetitively for the last few years: a bonfire. Through the trees he spotted it, causing glee to rush through his mind. He practically swaggered towards it, arm outstretched ready to light it; ready to feel its friendly warmth once again…

"Hey! W-what are you doing? This is private land you know!" a shrill voice cried out before Fendrel could kindle the bonfire. Fendrel pivoted himself around to find a young, frosty-haired girl pointing at him menacingly.

* * *

 **A/N: Haha, well it may have taken me two weeks but I finally did a second chapter (I'm surprised I did continued it at all 'cause of how lazy I am). The fight scene was... 'meh' at best in my opinion. I can't do action for the life of me. Now I think about it, it might have been better to have just done a rwby romance fanfic rather than a dark souls crossover but oh well. Someone asked if Fendrel is going to hollow with each death. The answer is yes. I was originally gonna make him unkindled and not hollow but I thought it would be more interesting for him to hollow each time. Currently, he is not hollowed. When he dies he will be. I think it'll fun to write people's reactions to his hollowed state. Feel free to favourite, follow and review! (I promise I'm not begging)**

 **I have a rough idea of where the story is going but not in much detail yet. I'm going to have to make a plan. Something I'm not the best at. But until then I have studying to do, Persona 5 to play and smut to read.**


End file.
